Bentley, a guiding presence at Diman for nearly four decades, will retire at beginning of next school year

Friday

May 9, 2014 at 9:03 PMMay 9, 2014 at 9:10 PM

Principal says he's "just lucky" to have spent career at school, looks forward to spending time with family

Michael Gagne Herald News Staff Reporter @HNMikeGagne

FALL RIVER — Thirty-eight years is a long time for a temporary assignment.

As “a kid fresh out of college,” Brian Bentley’s original plan when he began teaching English at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in September 1976 was to teach there for two years and apply for a teaching position at a brand-new, not-yet-finished building called B.M.C. Durfee High School.

As it turned out, Bentley, a Fall River native, never did apply for that other position. He would remain at Diman for nearly four decades, teaching students and eventually those students' children, nieces and nephews.

“I drank the Kool-Aid, and here I am,” Bentley said Friday afternoon. His career as an educator, and at Diman, will come to a close at the beginning of the next school year. He submitted his letter of retirement to the School Committee on Friday morning.

Bentley’s last day will be Sept. 2, the week after school begins.

Bentley still has one year remaining on his contract and said he had already planned to retire after that final year.

“I would like to definitely finish up the school year,” Bentley said. “There are things I need to do for the building to set up for the next school year. I will do whatever it takes in order for it to be a smooth transition.

“It was a decision that I made with my wife. I have had such a career. I did reach my retirement goal. Now I’m looking at that part of my life.”

Bentley said he leaves behind “hopefully good memories."

"What’s the next move in my life?" Bentley asked. "That all begins with giving up something before you go on to something else. I think I’ve done good things for Diman Regional. I think I’ve taken building as far as I can go. What is the difference between this year and next year?"

He had kind words for many of those he taught and worked with along the way.

“There are terrific faculty members, and absolutely the best students.”

Bentley put into perspective just how long his tenure at the school has been.

“Except for Father Diman himself and Joseph Gilligan, I have worked for every single superintendent who has ever been at Diman,” he said. “Me being in the building became more about generation and family. Not a day goes by when somebody doesn’t say to me, ‘Do you remember my mother, my father?’”

Bentley rose through the ranks in each decade that he worked at Diman.

In 1986, Bentley became the school’s first dean of students. A decade later, he was promoted to academic coordinator. And in 2001, Roger Ramos, then the school’s superintendent-director, appointed Bentley to the post of principal, a post he held for the next 13 years.

Bentley declined to say whether any changes at Diman have led him to seek retirement.

Diman administrators and School Committee members reacted to the announcement.

“He will be greatly missed,” said Marta Montleon, Diman’s superintendent-director. “It will be a very, very hard job finding someone to replace him.

“He spent his entire professional career here and has been a tremendous asset to the school and to me personally. It will not be an easy job for someone to step in and take over with all that he’s done for the school. We wish him well.”

Paul Jennings, who chairs the School Committee, said he remembered being a student around the time Bentley began teaching.

He said finding a replacement whose dedication to the school matches Bentley’s would be a tall order and will be a decision the committee is “not going to rush.”

Former Diman Superintendent-Director Joseph Martins, who currently sits on the Fall River School Committee, was both a former colleague of Bentley’s and a boss.

Martins said Bentley is a hard worker who did “great things for Diman,” particularly in his involvement with the teams that went to the SkillsUSA competition year after year. When reached by phone, Martins said he, too, was disappointed to learn of Bentley's retirement.

Bentley said he is certain Diman will continue to provide students with an excellent vocational education and academics.

“I’m positive it will continue to move forward,” Bentley said. “I’ve seen so many new educational concerns. There are moving targets in education these days. There are always challenges. But we have good leadership, we have good students. It’s unbelievable.”